Professional Documents
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General considerations
Research papers usually have five chapters with well-established sections in each chapter. Readers of the
paper will be looking for these chapters and sections so you should not deviate from the standard format
unless you are specifically requested to do so by the research sponsor.
Most research studies begin with a written proposal. Again, nearly all proposals follow the same format. In
fact, the proposal is identical to the first three chapters of the final paper except that it's writtten in future
tense. In the proposal, you might say something like "the researchers will secure the sample from ...", while
in the final paper, it would be changed to "the researchers secured the sample from ...". Once again, with
the exception of tense, the proposal becomes the first three chapters of the final research paper.
The most commonly used style for writing research reports is called "APA" and the rules are described in
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Any library or bookstore will have it
readily available. The style guide contains hundreds of rules for grammar, layout, and syntax. This paper
Page layout
Left margin: 1"
Right margin: 1"
Top margin: 1"
Bottom margin: 1"
Page numbering
Pages are numbered at the top right. There should be 1" of white space from the top of the page number
to the top of the paper. Numeric page numbering begins with the first page of Chapter 1 (although a page
number is not placed on page 1).
References
APA format should be used to cite references within the paper. If you name the author in your sentence,
then follow the authors name with the year in parentheses. For example:
Jones (2004) found that...
If you do not include the authors name as part of the text, then both the author's name and year are
enclosed in parentheses. For example:
One researcher (Jones, 2004) found that...
A complete bibliography is attached at the end of the paper. It is double spaced except single-spacing is
used for a multiple-line reference. The first line of each reference is indented.
Examples:
Bradburn, N. M., & Mason, W. M. (1964). The effect of question order on response. Journal of Marketing
Research 1 (4), 57-61.
Bradburn, N. M., & Miles, C. (1979). Vague quantifiers. Public Opinion Quarterly 43 (1), 92-101.
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Chapter I - Introduction
Introductory paragraphs
Chapter I begins with a few short introductory paragraphs (a couple of pages at most). The primary goal of
the introductory paragraphs is to catch the attention of the readers and to get them "turned on" about the
subject. It sets the stage for the paper and puts your topic in perspective. The introduction often contains
dramatic and general statements about the need for the study. It uses dramatic illustrations or quotes to
set the tone. When writing the introduction, put yourself in your reader's position - would you continue
reading?
Purpose
The purpose is a single statement or paragraph that explains what the study intends to accomplish. A few
typical statements are:
The goal of this study is to...
... overcome the difficulty with ...
... discover what ...
Chapter II - Background
Chapter II is a review of the literature. It is important because it shows what previous researchers have
discovered. It is usually quite long and primarily depends upon how much research has previously been
done in the area you are planning to investigate. If you are planning to explore a relatively new area, the
literature review should cite similar areas of study or studies that lead up to the current research. Never
say that your area is so new that no research exists. It is one of the key elements that proposal readers
look at when deciding whether or not to approve a proposal.
Chapter II should also contain a definition of terms section when appropriate. Include it if your paper uses
special terms that are unique to your field of inquiry or that might not be understood by the general reader.
"Operational definitions" (definitions that you have formulated for the study) should also be included. An
example of an operational definition is: "For the purpose of this research, improvement is operationally
defined as posttest score minus pretest score".
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The methodology section describes your basic research plan. It usually begins with a few short
introductory paragraphs that restate purpose and research questions. The phraseology should be identical
to that used in Chapter I. Keep the wording of your research questions consistent throughout the
document.
Instrumentation
If you are using a survey that was designed by someone else, state the source of the survey. Describe the
theoretical constructs that the survey is attempting to measure. Include a copy of the actual survey in the
appendix and state that a copy of the survey is in the appendix.
Analysis plan
The analysis plan should be described in detail. Each research question will usually require its own
analysis. Thus, the research questions should be addressed one at a time followed by a description of the
type of statistical tests that will be performed to answer that research question. Be specific. State what
variables will be included in the analyses and identify the dependent and independent variables if such a
relationship exists. Decision making criteria (e.g., the critical alpha level) should also be stated, as well as
the computer software that will be used.
If the survey you're using was designed by someone else, then describe the previous validity and reliability
assessments. When using an existing instrument, you'll want to perform the same reliability measurement
as the author of the instrument. If you've developed your own survey, then you must describe the steps
you took to assess its validity and a description of how you will measure its reliability.
Validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of a measurement. Are we measuring what we think we are?
There are no statistical tests to measure validity. All assessments of validity are subjective opinions based
on the judgment of the researcher. Nevertheless, there are at least three types of validity that should be
addressed and you should state what steps you took to assess validity.
Face validity refers to the likelihood that a question will be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Pretesting a
survey is a good way to increase the likelihood of face validity. One method of establishing face validity is
described here. How to make sure your survey is valid.
Content validity refers to whether an instrument provides adequate coverage of a topic. Expert opinions,
literature searches, and pretest open-ended questions help to establish content validity.
Construct validity refers to the theoretical foundations underlying a particular scale or measurement. It
looks at the underlying theories or constructs that explain a phenomena. In other words, if you are using
several survey items to measure a more global construct (e.g., a subscale of a survey), then you should
describe why you believe the items comprise a construct. If a construct has been identified by previous
researchers, then describe the criteria they used to validate the construct. A technique known as
confirmatory factor analysis is often used to explore how individual survey items contribute to an overall
construct measurement.
Reliability is synonymous with repeatability or stability. A measurement that yields consistent results over
time is said to be reliable. When a measurement is prone to random error, it lacks reliability.
There are three basic methods to test reliability : test-retest, equivalent form, and internal consistency.
Most research uses some form of internal consistency. When there is a scale of items all attempting to
measure the same construct, then we would expect a large degree of coherence in the way people answer
those items. Various statistical tests can measure the degree of coherence. Another way to test reliability
is to ask the same question with slightly different wording in different parts of the survey. The correlation
between the items is a measure of their reliability. See: How to test the reliability of a survey.
Assumptions
All research studies make assumptions. The most obvious is that the sample represents the population.
Another common assumptions are that an instrument has validity and is measuring the desired
constructs. Still another is that respondents will answer a survey truthfully. The important point is for the
researcher to state specifically what assumptions are being made.
Chapter IV - Results
Description of the sample
Nearly all research collects various demographic information. It is important to report the descriptive
statistics of the sample because it lets the reader decide if the sample is truly representative of the
population.
Analyses
The analyses section is cut and dry. It precisely follows the analysis plan laid out in Chapter III. Each
research question addressed individually. For each research question:
1) Restate the research question using the exact wording as in Chapter I
2) If the research question is testable, state the null hypothesis
3) State the type of statistical test(s) performed
4) Report the statistics and conclusions, followed by any appropriate table(s)
Numbers and tables are not self-evident. If you use tables or graphs, refer to them in the text and explain
what they say. An example is: "Table 4 shows a strong negative relationship between delivery time and
customer satisfaction (r=-.72, p=.03)". All tables and figures have a number and a descriptive heading. For
example:
Table 4
The relationship between delivery time and customer satisfaction.
Avoid the use of trivial tables or graphs. If a graph or table does not add new information (i.e., information
not explained in the text), then don't include it.
Simply present the results. Do not attempt to explain the results in this chapter.
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Discussion
Discuss the findings. Do your findings support existing theories? Explain why you think you found what you
did. Present plausible reasons why the results might have turned out the way they did.
Recommendations
Present recommendations based on your findings. Avoid the temptation to present recommendations
based on your own beliefs or biases that are not specifically supported by your data. Recommendations
fall into two categories. The first is recommendations to the study sponsor. What actions do you
recommend they take based upon the data. The second is recommendations to other researchers. There
are almost always ways that a study could be improved or refined. What would you change if you were to
do your study over again? These are the recommendations to other researchers.
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References
List references in APA format alphabetically by author's last name
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Appendix
Include a copy of any actual instruments. If used, include a copy of the informed consent form.
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